Exactly Like That (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Steve and Catherine look for a way to harness Angie's growing fearlessness.


_Mari & Ilna-you guys are the absolute best! Thank you for EVERYTHING! YOU'RE THE BEST!_

_REAL Worlders-you guys are awesome. Thanks for all the support and encouragement._

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**Exactly Like That (1/1)**

"At least we had most of the background checks done on this place from when Grace took classes here," Steve said as he and Danny approached the front door of Hawaii Gymnastics & Cheer. "Only two new employees to look into and they both came back clean."

Steve and Catherine had talked to Dr. Hiroya about Angie's newfound habit of climbing anything and everything she could and after chuckling and saying it was 'fairly predictable considering her parents' the pediatrician had suggested that perhaps a toddler tumbling class might be a good way to channel Angie's energy.

Grace immediately suggested the gym where she had taken classes over the years. She couldn't say enough good things about her coaches and the positive, supportive environment she'd found there.

Her recommendation was more than good enough for Steve and Catherine. As soon as they ran background checks on everyone involved, they called and made an appointment to meet with Elena Kalea, the owner, and Karen Kamauoha, who was the head of the toddler program.

Steve and Danny stepped through the front door to find Catherine, Angie and Elizabeth waiting for them.

"Dada!" Angie squealed happily and held her arms up to him.

"There's my big girl." Steve smiled as he picked her up then leaned over to kiss Catherine on the cheek.

Angie peeked over Steve's shoulder. "Daaannnnno!"

"Annnnggggiiieee!" he replied.

"Were you waiting long?" Steve checked his watch. "The appointment is at 5:00, right?"

"We got here a little early," Catherine said. "Dad is at Pearl and Grandma Ang is having dinner with her senior group, so Mom decided to tag along and see the gym."

"Angie has been having a ball watching the big kids," Elizabeth added.

"Dada see." Angie squirmed to get down and approached the large glass wall that separated the lobby from the gym itself. There was a class of pre-teen girls going through their paces on the various gymnastics equipment and Angie was mesmerized. Steve wasn't sure if it was the movement, or the bright colors, or maybe the music filling the space, but the toddler was clearly enthralled by what she was seeing. She lifted one foot off the ground and raised her arms above her head in an attempt to copy one of the young ladies working on a floor routine.

"Is this our budding gymnast?" a voice from behind them asked.

Danny turned around with a broad smile. "Elena. It's been awhile. How are you doing?"

"Good, Danny," the petite brunette answered. "How about you?"

"Same as always." He grinned.

"Grace stopped by to visit a few days ago. I asked her where you were and she told me she drove herself." Elena shook her head in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

"Don't get me started," he grumbled good naturedly.

"What I can't figure out is how she keeps growing up, but you and I don't get any older," Elena chuckled.

Steve and Catherine were immediately taken by the woman's open, easy nature and her enthusiastic smile.

"She was very eager to tell me about her cousin Angie and how she might want to take our toddler tumbling classes," Elena continued. "According to Grace she's quite a prodigy."

"Grace is right about that," Danny said proudly. "Elena Kalea, I'd like you to meet Steve McGarrett, his wife Catherine Rollins, and her mother Dr. Elizabeth Rollins."

Elena smiled warmly and shook each of their hands in turn. "Pleasure to meet you all." She looked from Elizabeth to Catherine and then back at Elizabeth. "The resemblance is quite striking."

"Thank you," Catherine and Elizabeth said in unison.

"And this," Steve beamed as he pointed at the toddler still caught up in what was going on on the other side of the glass, "Is our daughter, Angie." He tapped her on the shoulder. "Can you say hello?"

Angie turned and eyed the stranger and after appearing to size her up waved. "Hi."

Elena squatted in front of her potential new student. "Hi Angie. My name is Ms. Elena."

Angie smiled at her then turned back and pointed at the gymnasts excitedly. "See!"

"I see them." Elena nodded. "Would you like to go inside and get a closer look?"

"Ah bahh eee dum!" Angie clapped her hands.

"I think that's a yes," Catherine said.

As they stepped into the gym they were approached by a smiling woman who appeared to be in her 20's with an infectious smile radiating positive energy. When she reached the group, Elena made the introductions.

"This is our toddler teacher Karen Kamauoha. Karen this is Steve McGarrett, his wife Catherine Rollins and her mother Dr. Elizabeth Rollins."

"Nice to meet you," Karen smiled warmly.

"This is Danny Williams, Grace's dad."

"I've heard a lot about you," Karen said.

"And this," she indicated the toddler who looked very much like she was about to make a break for the other side of the gym to get a closer look at the tumblers, "Is Angie."

"Very nice to meet you." Much like Elena had done earlier Karen squatted down to get herself closer to Angie's eye level. "Everyone calls me Miss Karen."

"Can you say Miss Karen?" Catherine prompted.

"Missss Ka-wen," Angie parroted happily. "See!" She pointed at the young woman across the gym on the balance beam.

"I see her," Karen bubbled, matching Angie's enthusiasm. "Would you like to try that?"

Angie's eyes lit up with excitement while Steve's registered alarm.

"Isn't she too little for that?" he asked.

Elena smiled and led them around a large partition to the toddler area of the gym. "As you can see, we have miniature versions of all the equipment. It helps the children get comfortable with the apparatus right from the start."

"That's a great idea." Elizabeth looked around, impressed by what she was seeing.

Karen pointed to the balance beam that stood about six inches high surrounded by bright yellow and blue mats. "Here we go, Angie."

Catherine followed as Angie made her way hurriedly across the mats and scrambled up onto the narrow wooden beam. She reached out her hand to steady her daughter and was met with an insistent, "No." Angie pulled her hand away making it clear she wanted to do it on her own.

Catherine stepped back next to Steve and they watched with pride as Angie, imitating the older girl she'd seen earlier, held her arms out to her sides for balance and quickly made her way across the beam under Miss Karen's watchful eye.

When they reached the end Karen asked, "Do you want to try …" but before she could finish her sentence Angie jumped off the end of the beam onto the soft mats and squealed gleefully.

"I guess you do," Karen laughed.

"She is her father's daughter for sure," Danny snorted. "Just leap off things and hope for the best."

"She's kind of fearless," Steve said, his eyebrows knit together slightly. "Is that something we should be concerned about?"

"Not at all," Elena assured him. "Some children are just naturally adventurous. That doesn't make it easy on mom and dad," she smiled, "but it's perfectly natural. What we can work on is helping Angie learn to take a beat to consider her next move and not to just jump into things recklessly."

Danny snorted out loud. "Can you teach her daddy that?"

"Sorry," Elena said. "You're on your own there."

"What kind of things would a typical class entail?" Catherine asked.

"That's an excellent question," Elena said. She loved involved parents who took a real interest in what their children would be learning. "Since Miss Karen leads all of our toddler classes I think I'll let her field that one."

"We start every class with a stretching session," Karen said as they all turned to watch Angie as she began to crawl over a stack of mats. "It gets the children warmed up but also helps them begin to learn about their muscles and how they work. Then we use the hoops and balls to work on strengthening their hand eye coordination. From there we open things up a bit. Sometimes we spend some time on the equipment, other times we practice grip strength by hanging on the bars, we use the foam pit to help get used to the idea of moving through the air while providing a safe landing space, and sometimes we set up an age appropriate obstacle course which the kids always enjoy."

Steve looked at Catherine and grinned.

Angie, who had made her way over the mats suddenly focused on the miniature vaulting apparatus in front of her.

"Ahhh bee deee." She squealed. "Dada up!"

"I'm not sure if you're allowed on that," Steve said.

"It's fine." Karen lifted Angie up onto the apparatus, keeping one hand on the toddler's waist. "Now Angie, the important thing is that you never jump off anything without knowing the mats are in place below to cushion your fall. Do you see the mats? Just like the ones over there by the beam."

Angie studied the ground below her carefully and nodded. "Uummm neeee bah."

"Also, it's important that you wait until I tell you it's safe to jump." Karen kept her hand on Angie's waist. "Do you understand what I mean by that? You need to wait until I tell you to go."

"Bah dahhh oooh."

Elizabeth noticed that Angie was immediately focused on Miss Karen and listening intently to every word the young woman said. Even if she didn't understand them all she was clearly responding positively to the woman's teaching.

"I'm gonna take my hand away but I don't want you to jump, ok?" Karen said.

Angie nodded seriously.

"Ok now, the mats are clear so it's safe for you jump if you want. Do you want me to hold your hand?"

Angie looked at the mats. "No," she said confidently.

"Ok then you can jump when you're ready."

Without hesitation Angie leaped off the apparatus and landed in the mats. A second later she jumped up and threw her hands in the air. "YAY! Mo'!"

Karen lifted her back onto the apparatus. "Remember the rule. You can't jump until I tell you it's ok." She turned to Steve and Catherine. "She definitely doesn't have a fear of heights. So, at this point my goal with her would be to help her learn a few safety rules without dampening her enthusiasm."

"That sounds fantastic," Catherine said.

"I think it's important to meet every child where they are," Karen said. "Some kids aren't quite as courageous at first, so we work on increasing their comfort level and encouraging them to try new things. With a child like Angie, who from what I can see is very open to new things, it's about helping them find the right kind of structure to explore within."

She turned back to Angie who was eyeing the mats excitedly but waiting for the okay to proceed from her new friend.

"Ok go!" Karen said and Angie immediately jumped.

"She picks up on the rules very quickly," Karen said. "We would work on reinforcing that in every class, but she appears to have the basics down."

"She's very smart," Steve beamed.

"That's clear," Karen smiled. She loved every one of her students and celebrated the uniqueness in each one, but it had been a long time since she'd encountered a child as outgoing and fearless yet as willing to listen and take instruction as Angie.

She took several steps towards a small bar that resembled a limbo pole.

"Can you come here and grab this for me, Angie?" She wrapped her hands around the bar. "Like this."

Angie scrambled to her side and after studying the bar for just a second grabbed on.

"It's impressive the way she assesses every situation," Elena said to Danny.

"The apple didn't fall far from the tree," Danny said. "Either of the trees."

"Now, lift up your feet," Karen said as she gently helped Angie bend her knees until she was hanging from the bar. "Good girl!"

Without prompting Angie swung her legs forward then began struggling to get them up to the bar, never losing her grip.

"How did you know that was what I was gonna suggest next?" Karen asked. She helped Angie get her feet over the bar in a trapeze like hold and anticipating the rambunctious little girl's next move held her feet firmly while Angie let go with her hands and giggled as she hung upside down.

"She would be a pleasure to have in class," Karen said as she helped Angie off the bar. 'She'd keep us all on our toes."

"What do you say, sweetie?" Steve swept his daughter up in his arms. "Do you wanna come back here and take a class with Miss Karen."

Angie nodded excitedly. "Bahhh daaa dee, dada!"

"We have a number of toddler classes throughout the day on Tuesdays and Fridays," Elena said. "Until the children are about 4 years old we ask for an adult to be present with them at each class."

Catherine bit her lip. "Steve and I both work during the day. I'll have to talk to Esther. She's Angie's nanny."

"I don't want to step on any toes," Elizabeth spoke up, "But I would be more than happy to do the classes with Angie."

"Are you sure, Mom?" Catherine asked. "It's a pretty big time commitment."

"I would be thrilled," Elizabeth said sincerely. "I'm sure your father would love to come sometimes too."

"Thanks, Elizabeth," Steve said. "That sounds perfect."

"And if either of you can get away from work you can always join us, kinda like storytime at the library."

"Thanks, Mom." Catherine smiled. "You're the best."

"Don't be silly, it's my pleasure." Elizabeth's eyes danced mischievously. "I'm pretty sure she's gonna need some new tumbling outfits though."

"Where do we sign up?" Catherine asked, ignoring her mother's glee at the thought of another excuse to buy Angie clothes, as if she needed an excuse.

"You can follow me to my office, and we can fill out the paperwork," Elena said.

"I'll take care of that." Catherine turned to Steve. "Why don't you let Angie watch the girls until I'm done then I'll meet you back in the lobby."

He nodded. "Sounds good."

As Catherine headed across the gym with Karen and Elena Elizabeth's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. "It's Joseph. He's teaching a class at Pearl today and told me he'd call as soon as it was over. Excuse me." She took a few steps away and connected the call.

"I think this is gonna be a good thing for Angie," Steve said as the little girl spun around happily on the mats in front of them.

"It definitely is," Danny agreed.

In a flash Angie darted to the top of a pile of mats and looked at Steve expectantly, clearly waiting for his ok to jump.

"Go ahead," he smiled.

Angie squealed as she jumped to the mats below.

Steve shook his head. "She just can't get enough of jumping off things."

Danny laughed out loud.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No," Steve said. "What's so funny?"

"It's not funny exactly it's just," Danny looked at him incredulously. "What did you think a kid that was half you and half Catherine was going to be like?" He looked at Angie who had again scrambled to the top of the pile of mats but this time instead of jumping to the ground she jumped to the neighboring pile of mats. "Because I could have told you she was gonna be," Danny beamed at his goddaughter, "Exactly like that."

**THE END**

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